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The Struggle
the struggle Fifteen cats have decided enough is enough and started to revolt against their Clans. They've split SkyClan in two. No one knows who WindClan hosts anymore, or what they are. And the wars they wage on ShadowClan deplete it down to its weakest members. In a war torn forest, Clans bleed one another dry. During the chaos, a group of strays is looking for revenge, and unlikely friendships will develop. They will be executed as traitors if caught. Betrayal and heartbreak will occur. But in this saga, heroes and villains alike will arise. Cats will die. Blood will stain the ground. And no one can escape the struggle that is the Revolt. Allegiances ShadowClan Leader: Ryestar – dark ginger tabby tom Deputy: Sweetdapple – orange tabby she-cat with bright green eyes Medicine Cat: Swanthorn – white tabby she-cat with extremely long claws Apprentice: Rainpaw Warriors: Mistlebush – dark brown-and-black tortoiseshell tom with brown eyes Ivypelt – light gray she-cat with pine green eyes Apprentice: Emberpaw Olivetooth – dark brownish-green tom with brown-green eyes Splashfang – white tom with brown and black patches and long fangs Dappleheart – dappled brown she-cat with flecks of white in silver eyes Blackfur – black tom with stern green eyes Apprentice: Vinepaw Dawnstripe – yellow tabby she-cat with orange eyes Primrosefall – white she-cat with specks of light orange and yellowish orange eyes Apprentice: Shortpaw Starlingfox – gray-and-red tortoiseshell she-cat with bushy tail and amber eyes Timberclaw – light brown tabby she-cat with ginger eyes Twistedfoot – ginger tom with a twisted foot and blazing blue eyes Apprentices: Rainpaw - silver tabby tom with gray eyes Emberpaw – dark ginger she-cat with yellow eyes; muscular and sleek Vinepaw – dark gray tabby tom with green eyes; scrawny yet fast Shortpaw – tiny speckled tom with white tip and short legs; fierce orange eyes Queens: Mintwhisker – silver queen with hazel eyes (mother to Mistlebush's kits, Brightkit, white she-cat with blue eyes, Doekit, brown she-cat with cream underside and tail tip, and Morningkit, brown-and-black tortoiseshell) Hopeshine – golden tabby with amber eyes (Expecting Twistedfoot's kits) Sweetdapple – orange tabby she-cat with bright green eyes (expecting Ryestar's kits) Elders: Hickoryleg – brown tom with stiff leg Sneezenose – cream tabby she-cat Softfur – white tom with soft fur Mistflight – dappled gray she-cat who is blind Patchfur – patchy, ragged, brown furred she-cat ThunderClan Leader: Longstar – light gray she-cat, long whiskers Deputy: Chestnutpelt – dark ginger tom with brown eyes Medicine Cat: Wildsong – kinky furred she-cat with beautiful blue eyes Apprentice: Sorrelpaw Warriors: Dewwhisker - dappled tortoiseshell tom Kestrelsong - brown she-cat with patches of black and white and dark brown eyes Nettlefrost - brown tom with patches of white and icy blue eyes Sedgeburr - brown and green tortoiseshell she-cat Apprentice: Quailpaw Ashpelt - dark gray tom with darker gray eyes Ebonyfall - dark ginger she-cat with amber eyes Sunfoot - ginger tom with white paws Apprentice: Leopardpaw Emberwing - russet she-cat with heterochromatic amber and blue eyes Thrushfern - white tom with gray tabby patches Ivydapple - gray-and-white she-cat Hawkberry - motted gray she-cat with a white muzzle Apprentice: Snowpaw Olivepelt - brown-and-black tom Sorrelflight - gray she-cat Whiskertoe - white tom with gray toes Apprentices: Quailpaw - black tom with white on his toes, tail tip, face, and back Sorrelpaw - brown-and-white she-cat Leopardpaw - brown spotted tabby tom Snowpaw - white she-cat with crow-black ears and a twisted paw Queens: Nightfawn - brown-and-black she-cat Birchwhisker – tortoiseshell-and-white with startling green eyes (mother to Sorrelkit, gray tabby tom, and Pinekit, tortoiseshell she-cat) Elders: Rockpelt - dark gray she-cat Maplesun - dark ginger she-cat with yellow eyes Yellowclaw - long-furred brown tom with dirty teeth and claws RiverClan Leader: Duskstar – Silvery black she-cat with a white marking on her forehead Deputy: Stormfang – Silver-gray tom with long sharp fangs Medicine Cat: Whispersong – Sandy colored she-cat with soft voice Warriors: Foxwish - dark brown she-cat with white tail tip Apprentice: Thistlepaw Owldapple - brown speckled tom Blossompool - tortoiseshell-and-white she-cat Apprentice: Mallowpaw Badgerscar – Black tom with white stripe along his face and back; scars along his flank Nightwish – Gray she-cat with black around her eyes and black ears Otterscar - brown tom with a long scar reaching from his neck to his hind leg Kestrelflower - sandy she-cat with a white muzzle Quickstream - brown tom with blue eyes Lioncloud - large long-furred golden she-cat with large front claws Apprentices: Thistlepaw - short-furred brown she-cat Mallowpaw - gray tom Queens: Cassidy - tortoiseshell she-cat with tabby markings (mother to Dustkit, brown tortoiseshell she-cat, and Swiftkit, tortoiseshell tom with tabby markings) Runningbreeze - golden tabby queen Elders: Willowwind - gray she-cat with black ears Vixenleap - brown tom with white paws WindClan Suspected Leader: Tumblestar - old gray-and-white tom Suspected Deputy: Lilyspots - mottled she-cat Suspected Medicine Cat: Tawnywhisker - tawny she-cat Suspected Warriors: Harestep - creamy-white tom Pouncebreeze - tortoiseshell she-cat Talldust - dusky brown tom with long legs Aspencreek - blue-gray she-cat with long pointed muzzle, formerly of RiverClan Tangleleap - black she-cat with ragged, knotted fur SkyClan Leader: Timberstar - brown-and-white tom with scarred legs and graying muzzle Deputy: Treebranch - brown tom with a long tail Loyal Cats: Mistywing - gray she-cat with amber eyes Ferretstrike - brown-and-black she-cat with long claws Beeflight - ginger tabby tom Heronpelt - pale gray tom Pinepaw - russet she-cat with one blind eye Nettlepaw - small spiky-furred tortoiseshell she-cat Marilyn - cream she-cat (mother to Bee, silver tabby tom, Kennedy, light brown she-cat, and Jackie, creamy-brown she-cat) The Revolt Leader: Willow - small gray tabby tom (formerly of ShadowClan) Second-in-command: Holly - lanky black tom (formerly of RiverClan) Members: Cedar - large dark ginger she-cat (formerly of SkyClan) Oak - brown she-cat (formerly of WindClan) Leaf - tabby tortoiseshell tom (formerly of ThunderClan) wip The Strays Leader: Hannah - brown she-cat with white dots and pale brown eyes Second-in-command: Foxy – dark ginger tom, bushy tail with large white tip Healer: Pearl - white she-cat with a brown patch over one of her eyes Strays: Terry - smoky gray tabby she-cat Stripes - tabby tom Leaf - tortoiseshell tom with tabby markings Deryn - brown she-cat Smith - black tom with hazel eyes Torrent - blue-gray she-cat Tigger - ginger tabby tom with black stripes and a long tail Lorraine - silver she-cat with an eye missing Mothers and mothers to-be: Raven - black with silver eyes (mother to Storm, black tom with gray patches, Meadow, ginger she-cat with silver eyes, and Deer, a ginger tom) Wysteria - gray she-cat with pink tint Harper - tabby she-cat with green eyes Lyre - brown she-cat with long legs and tabby stripes on her tail Cats Outside Clans Rabbitpounce – former WindClan deputy, exiled for killing Gorsescar, massive sandy tabby tom Isabella – ragged brown she-cat with blue eyes Rhea – silver tabby she-cat with blood-stained paws Galaxy - mottled black-and-white tom with heterochromatic violet and blue eyes Snow That Blankets The Mountain - white tom with amber eyes Frost Where Paws Slip - silver she-cat with amber eyes Prologue "?" - ? "Don't do this," begged the pale she-cat, on the ground, wounded. Towering over her was a silver she-cat, her paws red with the blood of others. "You can't kill me! I'm your sister!" A laugh came from the tabby as she plunged her claws into the throat of the one on the ground. Blood foamed at the cut and the murderer ran off as several cats came out of their hiding spot. The first one to speak, a brown she-cat, is not surprised nor angry, but sad. "Oh, Rhea," she whispered. "Why did you have to do this? We were happy together, with Mom." She looked around, then continued her grieving. "Can you make it? Here, lean on me." The color drained out of the already pale cat as she struggled to her paws. Her voice was barely more than a whisper as she said her final words. "L-Let . . . me . . . go . . . H-Hannah . . ." And she's gone. Hannah wailed as she carried her sister to where the others were. Several cats crowded around the two as they disappeared to the field where all the rogue cats are buried. She whispered thanks for protecting her from their bloodthirsty sister. Then she straightened. Rhea had killed too many cats. All her friends had lost loved ones from her sister. "She's gone insane," she muttered. Turning back to the alley, she devised a plan inside her mind. ~*~ Ryestar frowned as he surveyed the land in front of him. Five dead, seven severely injured, and half the Clan brought to their paws. His medicine cat had caught flamecough and her apprentice worked and strained to treat everyone. He growled at the thought of the others invading again. War was constant now. Allies were useless. The ceaseless tension, the air of war, always put the cats on guard. His temporary deputy, Splashfang, padded up to him. "Olivetooth and Shortpaw are ready for burial," he reported, his eyes grim. His mate, Dappleheart, was with him, her eyes fearful. After her mate left she beckoned the leader into his den, and she began speaking. "Ryestar, Swanthorn's quickly succumbing to the illness. Rainpaw's tried everything to help. Is there any way you can help?" The tabby shook his head. "It is in the paws of StarClan now." Dappleheart ran out of his den, and he stood there, sighing, as he saw the turmoil his Clanmates were in. A cat they depended on most was dying, and all they had left was an inexperienced tom who was barely eight moons old. They needed someone they could trust, and fast. But who could help them in their need? The other Clans were too hostile to reach out to, and nobody in the camp had the knowledge to train Rainpaw. If Swanthorn died, ShadowClan would be vulnerable, and would be easy pickings for the more power Clans along his borders. He pondered the idea before deciding to turn to his Clanmates. Hopping onto the Clanrock, he asked his Clan for any suggestions if their medicine cat died. Not a lot of cats had answers; they simply couldn't think of a world without Swanthorn. At least everyone didn't want to ask the other Clans; that was a ridiculous idea in the first place. No, what they needed was outside help, said Blackfur. He was extremely proud and somewhat narcissistic but if he didn't see any other option, then this would be their solution. Unless Swanthorn lived, which would be a huge relief to the Clans. Not like that would be happening anytime soon. He was ready to agree with the warrior when a brown she-cat entered the camp, her amber eyes bold and bright. She held her head high, and was accompanied by two others. "I'm Hannah. If you want what's good for you, you'll help us." ~*~ Wildsong frowned as she saw the cats come back from their battle. "We were ambushed," growled Sunfoot as he limped into the clearing. He was supporting his apprentice, a spotted tom as the latter stumbled every few seconds. Wildsong inspected the cats who went to battle. All of them had some sort of gash that was trickling blood somewhere. She shook her head. "By who?" she asked. "WindClan." The reply came from Ivydapple. "Those annoying cats may be dead as a rotten log, but they can still fight." She licked her wound, one on her shoulder, then spat out the blood. "Screw those pesky cats," she growled. Wildsong rolled her eyes and got to work on the cats that needed it most. "Leopardpaw will need to be treated first," she announced. "The rest of you, assess your wounds and order yourself in priority of treatment. Sorrelpaw will help a little bit." The brown-and-white she-cat popped her head out of the den. "Who should I start with?" The spiky medicine cat directed her to the cats with the more serious wounds, while she attended to Leopardpaw. The apprentice didn't seem to be faring well. Blood oozed out most of the wounds he had, and his eyes were beginning to flutter closed. He's losing consciousness, she realized, and grabbed cobwebs to stop the bleeding. Her eyes scanned the den in search of more cobwebs, as she had lost some. "Fox dung!" she snarled, her eyes still on a fatal wound to the spotted tom's throat. It wasn't deep, but it was long, and it was slowly killing him. Turning around, she called for her apprentice, and asked if they had anymore cobwebs. She shook her head. "Birchwhisker's kits got into the supply, remember? And Dewwhisker needed some." With that, she exited to tend to the cats outside. Wildsong was getting desperate. Sedgeburr would never forgive her if her son died. She ran outside and called for her friend, Chesnutpelt, who was surveying the injured cats. "Chesnutpelt, can you do me a favor," she asked pleadingly. "Sure. Whaddya need?" "I need you to search the forest for cobwebs." He was about to argue, but she cut him off. "I know it's dangerous out there, but you're one of the stealthiest cats in ThunderClan. Take a friend or two—I suggest Nettlefrost and . . ." She blanked on who else to send. Sure, Nettlefrost was the strongest and most capable of fighting. I knew him since we were kits! she thought angrily, but they needed brains and common sense as well. Her first thought was Brightsnout, the brains of the Clan. He's dead, she remembered, and shook that thought away. She thought of her daughter, Snowpaw, an apprentice with a smart mind but with a twisted foot. "Bright-I mean, Snowpaw." She waved the tom away. "What are you waiting for?" Her feet carried her back to the den. To her dismay, Leopardpaw's eyes were closed. Frantic, she pressed her ears to his chest. "He's still breathing," she murmured to herself. "Good." She spotted beech leaves sitting in a crevice of the den, and grabbed them, spreading them across the wound, then smeared what few cobwebs she had left across the gash. Not perfect, but at least he wasn't bleeding anymore. His forehead didn't seem hot. Good. --- "What do mean you couldn't save him?" screeched Sedgeburr. Her eyes were wide with anger and she seemed barely able to restrain herself. In her peripheral vision Wildsong could see cats crowding around Leopardpaw's body as they said good-bye to him one last time. Though he survived the initial wound, the medicine cat could not save him from the ensuing infection. And after that, Chesnutpelt had taken ill with greencough and was not getting better. Longstar was also getting older. She couldn't keep up with the toll this war had been taking on her Clan. Steadying herself, she forced herself to look into the angry she-cat's eyes. "The infection was too much for the herbs to handle. It overtook him and overwhelmed his body. I'm sorry, Sedgeburr." She lunged at Wildsong. "Sorry doesn't solve anything!" Her brother, Dewwhisker, pulled her back. "Sedgeburr," he said firmly, "control yourself. Don't attack your medicine cat. The Clan's broken enough as it is." "What do you know?" she snarled, and pulled free from his grip. Her eyes were wild with fury and her tears glistened on her snout. Leopardpaw was her only child; she must've really cared for him. "How could you not save him? He should've lived!" Wildsong backed away from the angry she-cat, who inched closer with every step. "You and your skills. I can't believe you claim to be a medicine cat! You can't fight a simple infection!" Sedgeburr's paws left the ground and she tackled the medicine cat. Both she-cats tussled in the grass until Longstar and Dewwhisker pulled them apart. Longstar gazed sternly at them both. "A cat just died, and you two are arguing like a pair of kits. Act properly. This is no time to be attacking our medicine cat. Do please control yourself." Sedgeburr was still giving Wildsong death glares, but she nodded, turning her angry glare to Leopardpaw, where it softened. "I'm sorry, Leopardpaw. You shouldn't have died." She pressed her snout in her son's fur, while others crowded around murmuring their condolences. The medicine cat whispered something in Longstar's ear, and the leader nodded. She leapt up Highledge and shouted, "Let all cats of ThunderClan gather to hear my words!" All the cats who weren't already outside padded out their dens, and turned their attention to the she-cat. "Leopardpaw should not have died. It was not the fault of our medicine cat, who worked day and night to save him. It was not his own fault. It was WindClan's fault, and their fault alone. They ambushed us, and inflicted the wounds that caused Leopardpaw's death. Let us remember him. Let us honor him by giving him his warrior name." A cheer rose from the cats, and Wildsong joined. Sunfoot walked forward, with his apprentice draped on his back. Longstar dipped his head towards him. "Sunfoot told me before that fateful battle that Leopardpaw was almost ready to become a warrior, and that he fought like LionClan out there. He may have died, but he is worthy of his warrior name. I ask you, what name would suit our apprentice best?" "Leopardheart!" "Leopardshine!" "Leopardspirit!" "Leopardfang!" Names arose from the crowd of ThunderClan cats, but Snowpaw had an idea. "What if we honor both his father and him?" she asked. "Everyone knows how much he is like his father." Sedgeburr nodded. "He reminded me of Thorntail so much. He helped me through his death. I suggest we name my son Leopardthorn." Longstar nodded. "I ask my warrior ancestors to look down on this apprentice. He has learned the warrior code and given up his life in the service of his Clan. Let StarClan receive him as a warrior. Leopardpaw will be known as Leopardthorn." "Leopardthorn! Lepoardthorn! Leopardthorn!" The cries rang out across the clearing, but none cheered as much as Wildsong. She had to make his death mean something. If she couldn't save him, she might as well be the loudest to cheer. Her voice rang above the others. Longstar quickly cut them off. "We don't want enemies knowing where we are." Wildsong nodded, and went back to work on her herbs. These cats couldn't stop getting themselves injured. That's the life of a warrior, she thought as her paws jumped from poultice to poultice. ~*~ Aspencreek gasped as the blood started gushing out. "Oh no," she whispered. A head was now lolling in the dirt. "Retreat!" she yowled, and the cats followed her. As they were running back to camp a brown tom asked, "Why we leavin'? Thought we be winnin'." Tangleleap shook her head. "We promised Tumblestar we wouldn' so much as injure them cats. Look what we gon' and did, now. One cat dead and those StarClanners know how many more be gone." The patrol muttered their agreement before running back to their makeshift camp. Tumblestar raced outside. "Back so soon?" he growled. "Didn' keep that promise, now did ya?" Aspencreek shook her head. She was the only one, however. The others all nodded fervently, hoping to evade the hot-tempered leader's fury. "Well? Keep that promise or not?" This time everyone nodded. If they were caught, though, everyone would pay for what happened. "Good. Warriors or not, we still be livin' by that long time code, and don' you forget." Pouncebreeze walked over to where the blue-gray she-cat was. "Failed to not hurt them cats, now didn' you?" "Shut up, Pouncebreeze." "Ain't no need to be so darn rude, now is there?" Aspencreek turned on her friend. "If Tumblestar gets wind of this, we're all dead. You know how he is when he's mad." Pouncebreeze backed away. "Easy, m'dear. Didn' think you were so wound up, now." The former RiverClan she-cat didn't respond. Instead, she stomped off, mad that such a thing happened. An apprentice, by the looks of it, dead. How did she become so damn careless? Shaking her head, she returned to her nest to sulk. "Wake up, sleepyhead." She awoke to a cream tom above her. "Hello, Harestep," she muttered before closing her eyes and turning away. "Rude," he purred, settling down next to her. "What's going on? I know this isn't what you're normally like." Aspencreek groaned. Harestep was her longtime friend; she had known him since they were apprentices. He came from ThunderClan, or something like that and didn't have the moorish accent of WindClan. "I'm waiting." "Fine. We ambushed ThunderClan after they were hunting, right? They had an apprentice with them, I think, and I'm pretty sure he's dead right now." Harestep tipped his head. Walking around her, he scraped at the ground before continuing. This was his thought process, as Aspencreek knew very well. Finally he turned back. "You sure he's dead? And that he's a he?" The she-cat shrugged. She hadn't really seen the apprentice too clearly, and had only seen their head. Harestep nuzzled her and told her to wait where she was. A couple moments later, he returned and beckoned the she-cat forward. "Let's go out on a nighttime walk, just you and I." "What if Tumblestar catches us, or Lilyspots? You know we're to stay inside the camp during night unless we're on night patrol." Harestep butted her. "Then let's get on the night patrol." Aspencreek shook her head. There was no point. Even if the apprentice wasn't dead, he'd probably be dead within the quarter-moon. ThunderClan had a low supply of marigold and horsetail, because of the harsh winter frost. More cats were dying by the minute, and they were all in a state of panic, if not overly so. "What is there to do?" she moaned. "We're all in such disarray . . . nothing's gone right since the Great Fire." She wasn't there when it happened, but she heard stories of a great bolt of lightning striking the earth, and the ground heating up quickly. The forest burned, cats died, and disease spread. No one was safe from the disease now known as "flamecough." You coughed blood, you vomited a lot, and in the end you would turn delirious and hallucinate as you slowly died, decaying from the inside out. There was no cure. Luckily nobody had it, but there were tales of a comeback after a couple moons of it being wiped from the territories. Harestep shrugged. "Come on," he said. "Let's go." They padded softly across the camp clearing, before a voice asked, "Where do you two think you're going?" The sharp eyes of Lilyspots had caught them once again. She sighed. "You know you can't leave without Tumblestar's permission," she reminded them. "What if you get caught, or killed? WindClan would lose valuable warriors." Like Harestep, Lilyspots had come from somewhere else. Whereas Harestep was not trusted by the temperamental leader, the deputy got into his good graces and became his mate and deputy. Aspencreek's friend called it "favoritism," and always found a reason to hate the stern but kind she-cat. wip Chapter 1 tbc Chapter 2 tbc Chapter 3 tbc Chapter 5 tbc